Is This Mad Men Season Better Than Last?

Is This Season of Mad Men Better Than the First?

September 23, 2008

There was no new Mad Men episode to recap this week but there was still plenty to talk about given the splash the AMC original series made at the Emmys! I was dubious at first about the show's second season, what with the leap forward in time and all the unanswered questions, but the further in we get the more exciting it all becomes.

What do you think so far? Is this season of Mad Men topping the first?

Photo courtesy of AMC

14 Comments

Allytta 4 years 34 weeks

i hate the 2 season, so dissapointed... loved loved the first one, and now i'm not even watching anymore.

janetwrogers 4 years 34 weeks

I think I'm with Kwikwit. While I am enjoying the second season, I don't think any subsequent season will top the first one. Part of it for me was that newness, but I think some of it was that I found the exploration of the creative process so fascinating in the first season. You got to see them try to come up with brilliant ideas and you wonder right up until the meeting with the clients what Don is going to come up with and then somehow he manages to save it at the last second. While I understand that in order to show more of their lives at home, we had to lose some of the work stuff, I miss it. I also haven't gasped as much. There were a few episodes in the first season where there would be a turn of events that surprised and delighted me. Sometimes it was amazement at how far they were going (Betty and the washing machine), sometimes just because they played something out in a particularly bold way (they weren't going to get rid of Pete because the tension between him and Don in Season 1 was too fun, so I expected that Pete was going to get to push things and never get fired as he would have in real life -- but then Don DID fire him, and Pete's reaction was priceless because neither Pete nor I believed it was going to happen, and then when Roger reinstates him telling him that it was Don's decision to save him, the cleverness more than makes up for the reversal). I feel like this season, we're waiting for certain revelations (what happened to Peggy's baby, etc.) but that that's a more commonplace kind of tv suspense.

janetwrogers 4 years 34 weeks

kwikwit 4 years 34 weeks

And as to your question, Buzz, I think this second season is excellent. However, there's just something about the first season. It was so fresh and new - the settings, costumes, characters - it captured me in a way that I don't think any subsequent season will be able to.

kwikwit 4 years 34 weeks

I was also disappointed that John Slattery didn't win for supporting actor. He absolutely steals every scene he's in.

ilanac13 4 years 34 weeks

i never watched the first season but i know that a lot of people were sold on it. i've seen a few episodes of this season and i've really enjoyed it but i don't have a point of comparison..

Linda McP 4 years 34 weeks

It's taken me awhile to fall in love with the second season, but it has slowly grown on me. The fact that I'm still talking about an episode days later convinces me that the writing is brilliant and that I simply need to be patient and trust that I will know what I want to know when I need to know it.

reginapulchera 4 years 34 weeks

All the characters are getting juicy story lines. That is one of the reason why I love the show so much, the subplots are amazing!

Koneko 4 years 34 weeks

It took me a while to get into the show - i think the innate sexism of the era put me off. Season two however is getting really interesting and finally hitting its stride.

pinky tuscadero 4 years 34 weeks

Yes, the second season is much more darker and I like it. I knew that it was coming. After watching the Sopranos and never knowing what surprises were in store for the characters, was one of the reasons I started watching it. The writing for this show if off the charts and it deserves every award that it gets. Too bad Jon Hamm didn't win. I was soooo disappointed. :(

CocoChic 4 years 34 weeks

I love them both but I like seeing the real feelings behind so many of the characters. I like the story with Betty and I really like finding out about Don's past. Now if Pete and Peggy can just deal with some issues, we'll be set! I seriously missed it not being on this week. :(

CocoChic 4 years 34 weeks

gemini7827 4 years 34 weeks

Love! Love! Love! This show :)

gemini7827 4 years 34 weeks

Love! Love! Love! This show :)

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14 Comments

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